Axlerod also told NBC's "Meet the Press" that theadministration still plans to let President George W. Bush's tax cuts expire. Axlerod says those tax cuts skew to the wealthy, and "it's something we plainly can't afford."

Axlerod says letting Bush's tax cuts expire or eliminating them early while adding Obama's middle-class tax cut will "restore some balance" and end up being a "net tax cut."